It follows the Welsh government’s innovative Well-being of Future Generations Act, which places a legal requirement on public bodies in Wales to think about the long-term social, cultural, environmental and economic wellbeing impact of their decisions. Government departments should have a legal duty to routinely assess new policy for its impact on a broader range of criteria, including wellbeing. Wellbeing should replace growth as 'main aim of UK spending' Read moreGovernment departments do, obviously, have their own goals outside of economic output, but GDP growth remains the primary objective across government. New Zealand’s new approach remains one of the first examples of an attempt to lift alternative indicators such as wellbeing to a similar level to GDP. But freeing policymakers from constantly chasing economic growth alone is certainly a step in the right direction.

Source: The Guardian June 10, 2019 10:33 UTC